


Don’t be rash, don’t bash on Nash! - a pro-Nash manifesto

by flosculatory



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Community: inceptiversary, Gen, Meta, Ship Manifesto, manifesto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 14:39:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19477969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flosculatory/pseuds/flosculatory
Summary: Exactly what it says on the tin: one person's attempt to make Inception fandom fall in love with Nash (or at least hate him a smidge less).





	Don’t be rash, don’t bash on Nash! - a pro-Nash manifesto

**Author's Note:**

> It's the manifesto that you never knew you wanted and possibly still don't want, but assumed was going to pop up sooner or later from yours truly, founder of the Nash Defense Squad.
> 
> Written for Day 4 of Inceptiversary 2019's Inception Gen Week: Rare/Underappreciated Characters.
> 
> But really, written as a love letter to the sweatiest member of the dream team, Nash [first or last name redacted].
> 
> (Can also be found on tumblr at <https://flosculatory.tumblr.com/post/186060595537/dont-be-rash-dont-bash-on-nash-a-pro-nash>)

Whether you love him, hate him, or love to hate him, you can admit that there is a desperate dearth of Nash content in our dear fandom. So, for Day 4 of Inception Gen Week, I, flosculatory, president (and only member) of the Nash Defense Squad, am proudly declaring my love for Nash from the rooftops and am going to try to recruit you, the reader, into this Squad by any means necessary.

(For the tl;dr, just please read [Deja Fucking Deja Vu](https://tornadobelt.livejournal.com/3321.html) by weatherfront and cry and fall in love, ok)

** PART ONE: The Present, aka movie canon **

**A. “But Flos, Nash is a Bad Guy (TM)!!!!111!!”**

I mean, yeah, but let’s be honest... who isn’t?

  * Cobb: Did not tell the team about the very real possibility that they could end up in Limbo, also BETRAYED HIS OWN WIFE BY INCEPTING HER, WHAT THE FUCK
  * Yusuf: Aided and abetted the (first half of the) above in exchange for some cash.
  * Saito: Is cheating on his wife, started this whole inception nonsense to smooth the way for his business.
  * Eames: Was prepared to quit on the first level and let everyone else die and get sent to Limbo, also didn’t try particularly hard to distract Cobb’s tail at the bar and let’s be honest, would sell Cobb out for one (1) corn chip.
  * Mal (alive): Was willing to send Cobb to jail for her murder.
  * Mal (shade): Literally just killed everyone to fuck with everyone.
  * Everyone: Invades people’s minds without their consent to steal secrets and plant ideas, THESE ARE MORALLY QUESTIONABLE TIMES, NO ONE IS A SAINT HERE



So yeah, Nash sold Cobb and Arthur out to Saito because he was scared that Saito was going to find him and kill him, which makes him a rat but is still more honourable than selling someone out for an extra payday.

**B. “What idiot fucks up the carpet?”**

*ahem*. May I draw your attention to Exhibit A. 

President Dreamo himself explains this as a capital-R-Rule of dreamshare, and yet this is exactly what he asks of Nash. HM. Designing exact replicas of places clearly isn’t supposed to be part of the job description, and is honestly basically impossible with a billion textures in an apartment. 

MORE ON THIS IN PART TWO

**C. "YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO PUSH COBB BACK INTO THE CONVENIENTLY FILLED BATHTUB NASH, IT’S NOT THAT HARD”**

  
[Originally posted by daily-asgardian-news](http://tmblr.co/ZGPuIvX3KB3f)

Okay so like, multilevel dreams are clearly not that common, so there’s a possibility there was some sedative in the Somnacin that made Cobb harder to wake than normal, but... the bathtub was right there.... and they’d clearly discussed that kick before.......

So we’re going to attribute this one to Panicked Stupidity, folks. I get stupid in a crisis too, Nash, it’s FINE! At least he didn’t compromise a dangerous job by forcing Ariadne to tell him about a shortcut she created in the dream, knowing full well that him having that information would lead to his dead wife coming in and being a full nuisance. (@ dominick cobb)

Anyway WHO DOESN’T WANT TO SLAP COBB

  
[Originally posted by summerwines](http://tmblr.co/Z_qW8wXt6fFl)

**D. JUST LOOK AT HOW TENDER HE IS WITH HIS DREAM PALS**

** PART TWO: The Past, aka the prequels **

**A. Carpet, Take Two: BEING AN ARCHITECT IS HARD OK**

I’m not saying he’s God’s gift to architecting (*cough* Ivanka *cough*), but how about we give Nash credit for what he *was* able to replicate? (screenshot from the The Big Under script)

THE DUST. THE CEILING CRACKS. This man could be a savant, could have a photographic memory! Hundreds of visual details he got perfectly right, how could he have known of the passionate love affair between Saito and his carpet, a love too pure for Nash to comprehend????

  
[Originally posted by melisandre](http://tmblr.co/ZNHYRy2eAcbo)

**B. Canonically called someone “Sweet Pea” (screenshots from The Cobol Job)**

ok it was kinda in a condescending way but the same could be argued about Eames’ darling? Which brings me to:

**C. “Uh, Nash is kind of an asshole in the prequels?”**

So I could chat your ear off about how inconsistent Nash’s characterization is between the prequels and the movie ~~and how it keeps me up at night crying over what could have been~~ but he does act as a good contrast to Arthur and Cobb? In that he gets to provide some comedic relief and some lightness whereas ArtCobb are always frowny-faced and Stressed. 

Besides, his cheekiness and assholery is along the same vein as Ariadne mocking Cobb on the bridge, and Eames putting out his every-man-for-himself vibes. AKA all our faves? Also assholes!

**D. HONESTLY THIS MAN GOT AN AXE TO THE BACK WITH NO ONE TO SHOOT HIM OUT OF THE DREAM, HE HAS SUFFERED ENOUGH**

** PART THREE: The Future, aka the possibilities! **

**A. Did he die, though?**

I love Nash to bits, but... he’s a weasel. I’m sure he finds a way out of it. If you’re truly interested, might I once again refer you to [Deja Fucking Deja Vu](https://tornadobelt.livejournal.com/3321.html), my one true holy text when it comes to Nash (and possibly also [my podfic of it](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5678929), ok)

Have a poem too! (Because I had nowhere else to put it)

[An architect of dreams ...](https://archiveofourown.org/works/453657) by [GloriaMundi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaMundi/pseuds/GloriaMundi)

**B. “But Flos, why do you have so many feelings????”**

Look. I don’t know where this resilient-ass parasite of an idea came from. But for all that Nash is a hot mess and has no loyalty and is sweaty and is cocky without necessarily having the skill to back it up, he doesn’t really deserve the amount of hate he gets!!! He’s scared, in over his head, another one of the many people from whom Cobb asks way too much. He couldn’t possibly have foreseen that carpet shindig, and when the dream blew up and Arthur (irrationally) decided it was his fault and his fault alone, he probably realized that his time with ArtCobb was over anyway and worried that they would turn on him. IS SELF-PRESERVATION A CRIME

As I’ve alluded to several times, he’s not all that different from our favourite members of the team. He made a mistake, Arthur missed Fischer’s militarization completely. He’s out for himself, so is Eames! Nash is just a stray cat who’s been treated poorly in the past and thus acts out and we just need to give him blankets! and milk! and let him know that everything is going to be okay. (NB: I don’t know anything about stray cats)

**C. Shippy stuff**

Okay I know this was for gen week but Nash manifestos don’t come ‘round every day and I would be remiss if I didn’t include some good stuff!!! (Including some of my stuff but honestly it’s NOT MY FAULT there isn’t a lot of Nash content ok)

> Arthur/Nash: My one true Nash pairing? They both run hot and would bicker SPECTACULARLY.

  * one last time, [Deja Fucking Deja Vu](https://tornadobelt.livejournal.com/3321.html) by weatherfront (and [my podfic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5678929))
  * [I took your laugh by the collar (and it knew not to swing)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3495833) by [velificatio](https://archiveofourown.org/users/velificatio/pseuds/velificatio)
  * [what’s a happy ending, anyway?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5659264/chapters/13035013#workskin) by [flosculatory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flosculatory/pseuds/flosculatory) (me!)



> Ariadne/Nash: The two architects meeting??

  * [This post](http://disastermychild.tumblr.com/post/137141645974) by disastermychild
  * [The Underlying Logic of Things](https://archiveofourown.org/works/371839), an orphaned work
  * [it's a gift horse, sweet pea.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5678536) by [flosculatory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flosculatory/pseuds/flosculatory) (me again! technically this is Ariadne & Nash, with a touch of Arthur/Nash at the end)



> Nash/Yusuf: I don’t know why this should work, but they both have interesting moral codes, huh?

  * [Doctored](https://archiveofourown.org/works/128406) by [feverbeats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feverbeats/pseuds/feverbeats) (and/or [my podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11796870)



> Anyone/Nash, honestly I’m desperate: [Here is a list of Nash-centric fic ideas](https://flosculatory.tumblr.com/post/136861863212/nash-centric-fics-i-want) I cry over on the regular wherein I just mashed anyone up with Nash because this boy needs loving!!!!!!

**D. Nash Defense Squad Swag**

If you’re still reading this, one, why? two, I love you? three, no seriously, let me give you a hug for reading this feverish mess? four, congratulations, you are hereby invited to join the Nash Defense Squad! Feel free to save this honorary badge and... do something with it???

NASH LOVES YOU

**Author's Note:**

> Please bug me with ANY thoughts you have on Nash (unless it's hate because that's no bueno), and tag [@flosculatory](http://flosculatory.tumblr.com) about anything Nash (please I'm starving for content over here).
> 
> CATCH YA LATER, SWEET PEA.


End file.
